Toronto 18 Conviction Upheld By Ontario Appeals Court: Prosecutors

TORONTO — Federal prosecutors say the Ontario Court of Appeal has upheld the conviction of a man portrayed as a minor player in the so-called Toronto 18 terror plot.
Asad Ansari was found guilty by a jury in June 2010 of participating in a terrorist group — one of the two final verdicts in a massive case that saw 18 people charged with terrorism offences.

Men and youths dubbed the Toronto 18 were arrested in 2006 and accused of looking for Canadian sites — such as the Parliament Buildings in Ottawa — to target in an attack.
Ansari was released on bail in August 2009, and was sentenced in December 2010 to time served with three years of probation.

He and co-accused Steven Chand were the only ones tried by jury.
Seven others accused in the plot had their charges dropped or stayed, two were found guilty at trial by judge and seven pleaded guilty.
Ansari and Chand were on trial with Fahim Ahmad, who pleaded guilty mid-trial to leading a terrorist group, instructing others to carry out activities for the benefit of a terrorist group and importing firearms for the benefit of the terrorist group.

The jury heard weeks of evidence that Ahmad was plotting to attack Parliament, electrical grids and nuclear stations and that he held training camps to assess the suitability of recruits for his cause.

The jury had heard that Ansari attended one of those camps in December 2005.